Toronto Blue Jays Legally Oppose Creighton Logos

The Toronto Blue Jays have filed an opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) over the Creighton Bluejays logos from their most recent rebrand.

According to a letter [read it here] attached to their opposition Rogers Blue Jays Baseball Partnership feels that “[Creighton]‘s Jay Design mark is comprised of a blue jay bird head design in profile with its crest raised in a manner similar to certain of [Toronto]‘s Jays Design Marks.”

The complaint continues, “[Creighton's] design is formed by thick, clean lines and outlines with no gradient or shading, resulting in a bold, two-dimensional mark that is highly similar to the designs contained in certain of [Toronto]‘s Jays Design Marks.”

The Creighton Bluejays unveiled this new logo in October 2013

Within the letter the Blue Jays present a list of their fifteen different marks registered with the USPTO including those used by team-owned Minor League franchises in Dunedin, FL and Bluefield, WV.

The Toronto Blue Jays gripe seems to lie within a perceived public confusion as well as a dilution of their brand “by blurring of the distinctive quality”, it is alleged that the similarity in the marks when used alongside the name “Blue Jays” would creates a false sense of association between the two sports outfits.